Downloading, Streaming, and Pirating, Oh My! A Four Part Discussion Series on Music Distribution
By Aaron Binder and Vanessa Markov
Part One: Why Isn’t Your Music Everywhere?
Below is Part One of a Four part series of discussions from the perspective of a music industry professional (Vanessa) and from the view of a music consumer (Aaron).
Music distribution is changing rapidly. The market has become increasingly fragmented, giving users the ability to define their consumption style from tapes and vinyl to streaming platforms and, yes, pirated downloads. There are just so many ways to distribute music directly from bands and more traditionally with labels and distribution companies as middlemen, but there are just as many gaps in the supply chain and many poor decisions being made from start to finish — Aaron and Vanessa are here to figure out why sometimes it seems so easy to sell but many bands and labels get it so f*cking wrong.
Aaron: On a recent music binge, I was totally stoked to have found a bunch of new bands that I liked enough to want to buy a digital album, but I ran into a fairly pervasive issue. Out of the 10 albums I tried to buy, only 2 could be purchased without downloading iTunes. I’m not going to name names but it seems incredibly short-sighted that bands and labels would limit their sales by only distributing music through one download platform. My only other option to acquire these albums is piracy or downloading a streaming service and only listen when internet is available. As a fan of music, this is the most frustrating situation: when you want to support a band but can’t actually give them your money.
In 2016, outdated practices like geoblocking, platform exclusives, and physical purchase-only releases need to be shot out of a cannon into the sun. There is no such thing as exclusivity anymore — people want to consume products in their most convenient way (whatever that is to the individual) and bands/labels need to be aware of this fact. It’s naive to believe that if your music is only on iTunes or Spotify that it will draw listeners to them and statistics will agree with my viewpoint — these services are still more discovery than distribution platforms.
Vanessa: The main point is, not everybody downloads and not everybody streams. I, for one, am a streamer while Aaron is a downloader. At the same time, not everyone who uses Bandcamp uses iTunes, and not everyone who uses Soundcloud uses Spotify.
That said, I think the major overlying question here is “Why aren’t bands everywhere?”
Some excuses I’ve heard:
“I don’t believe in Spotify”
“ I don’t want people listening to my music for free”
“Bandcamp only takes PayPal” (not anymore! More on this in Part Two)
“I don’t use/understand Soundcloud”
“I prefer iTunes over Bandcamp”
“F*ck Apple” (I agree, but that’s beside the point)
I’d argue each of these separately but it’s more efficient to sum it up to this: Your opinions and objections are literally losing you money.
But Vanessa! How does letting someone stream my album for free lead to losing money??
Easy. First, streaming does generate royalties comparable to the sales you’d make in album downloads (more on the numbers in Part Two). Second, each of the available streaming and purchase platforms has its own loyal audience that just might never find you if you’re not there. Valuable earballs that lead to eventual downloads, or ticket sales, or merch sales, or even a recommendation to their best friend who is your yet to be discovered biggest fan.
I’ll put it this way: if you think you’re forcing people to the platform of your choice by only posting your music for sale or stream there, you’re wrong. I have never ever thought “Oh, I can’t find them on Spotify — better buy it on iTunes.” Never. I just move on. I would have to REALLY want that album or song to leave my consumption comfort zone to get it. (And it hasn’t happened yet because all the bands I REALLY want to listen to are on every platform imaginable — hint hint.) This the simple reality of today’s music market.
Aaron: I really like your last point, Vanessa. If a band is only available on iTunes, I’ll either find somewhere to download it and see if they accept donations via their website (why don’t more bands accept donations?) or go listen to something else. There’s enough great music out there that listeners aren’t at a loss if they skip your band.
What’s worse is that many bands I’ve spoken to about this shrug it off as though I’m wrong and their listeners will follow them to hell for a new single. Their hardcore fans may be willing, but casual listeners will determine your sustainable success in music and build future sales in new geographic locations, which translates to touring destinations and — as you know, Vanessa — touring has rapidly become the biggest money maker for musicians as album sales decline. Without easy access to discover the music, those earballs won’t show up to the concert to feed on a potentially fantastic live performance — which should be one of the biggest motivators to getting on as many platforms as possible.
If you have the music, it should be widely available to as many potential audiences as possible. I’ve even heard of bands learning other languages like German, Spanish and French to capitalize on the lucrative European touring market. That’s being innovative, and if you aren’t creating opportunities, somebody else will.
Go Forward To Part Two: The Ongoing Evolution of Digital Distribution
Go Further Forward To Part Three: Digital Did NOT Kill The Radio Star (Yet)
(Part Four Coming Soon)
About the Authors:
Aaron Binder and Vanessa Markov met in 2009 while writing music reviews for Lithium Magazine. In 2013 they launched TrashTalk AV, an uncensored Youtube show featuring candid music reviews and conversations. Since then they’ve both found individual success in various fields and industries — Aaron continues to grow Go Tours, one of Canada’s favourite tour companies, and has recently launched a VR based production company. Vanessa is currently handling digital operations for Mediazoic, a digital music solutions provider, while independently managing developing artists. The pair recently reunited to discuss music distribution.